Il Ponte sul Cielo a Pizzoferrato in Abruzzo, firmato dallo studio LAP

Il Ponte sul Cielo at Pizzoferrato in Abruzzo, designed by the studio LAP

The project for Il Ponte sul Cielo at Pizzoferrato, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, in Abruzzo, has been completed. The work is by the architecture firm LAP (Laboratorio di Architettura Partecipata) founded in L’Aquila in 2015 by a group of young designers, driven by the designer to regenerate the natural beauty and vitality of the area.

Pizzoferrato is a medieval village with views ranging from the Gran Sasso mountains to the Adriatic Sea, the Tremiti Islands to Monte Velino, the Mainarde to the plains of Molise. The “Bridge over the Sky” is located near the Cima del Pizzo: a large limestone cliff that looms over the town. The new facility will attract hikers and tourists, an influx that generates jobs and wellbeing for the entire community.

Like the wings of a dragonfly, the work is composed of two overhanging terraces that rise from the belvedere into the sky, surrounded by the majestic mountains. The structure ideally takes its form from the angular, rugged rocks, conserving their finish in the use of rammed earth and gravel. The sensation on the walkway is that of a hike on a mountain train.

The game of opposites is accentuated by the design of the parapet: on the one hand, a dry masonry wall in local stone that represents the link with the genius loci, on the other a slender structure in wrought iron to emphasize the sensation of flight. To reinforce the sense of lightness in relation to the transparent floor, a permeable parapet reflects the forms of nature and the wing patterns of dragonflies.

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